PSE Index Crashes Below 7,000 Points

The Philippine Stock Exchange index today crashed below the 7,000-point milestone level and is expected to be headed to the doldrums if the economic uncertainty from the Ukraine invasion continues to wreck the global economy, going down by 310.34 points or 4.26 percent to 6,977.773 points.

Photo Insert: The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Index, March 8, 2022

Considered the second-biggest decline since the pandemic when the market lost more than 700 points, the market has been affected by the economic woes arising from Russia's Ukraine invasion due to the spike in inflation in the US and elsewhere and the high energy prices that have affected the world economy.

Only the mining and oil sub-index which is seen to profit from the rise in metal prices survived the sell-down that resulted in the doubling of average trade to P12.15 billion as investors sold down their stocks in anticipation of the harsh economic realities of the Ukraine episode.

Mining and oil rose by 3.62 percent with two of the Top 20 active stocks posting gains, Nickel Asia which went up by 76 centavos to P9.52, and Global Ferronickel, which gained 37 centavos to P3.47.

Property giants Ayala Land and SM Prime were the top traded stocks as they posted huge declines. The former dropped by 90 centavos to P36.90 on trades of P840 million while the latter went down by P2.10 to P37.40 with a value turnover of P764 million.

There was negative sentiment in the market after the resumption of trading at 1 pm just after the one-hour market recess with blue chips and even high-[flying stocks was hobbled by sell-offs like Semirara, which dropped to P33.65, down by 45 centavos although it hit a high of P35 before the recess and went down to a low of P32.55.

Market bellwether SM Investments closed P39 lower to P890, its lowest price point after opening at P902 and going up to P938.

BDO Unibank lost P6 to P124, Metrobank by P2.80 to P52,50, and Bank of PI by P7.50 to P91 resulting in a hefty 5.16 percent loss in the financials sub-index. Holding firms went down by 4.23 percent, property by 4.08 percent, services by 3.31 percent, and industrials by 4.23 percent.

Solar Philippines lost 14 centavos to P1.85, Dito CME by 27 centavos to P5.07, and Jollibee by P15.40 to P222.60.

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